Talking to your child about personal safety

Children's saftey is a hot button subject in these perilous times

- Nisha Daniel

All parents need to talk about body awareness with their children. Here are some basic child safety precautions all parents must observe.

Speak frankly

Tell your child that some people can touch us in ways we don't like. Some people also hurt us by touching us in wrong ways. To be safe, they need to accept 'safe touch' and run away from 'unsafe touching.' Name your child's genital parts, without any embarassment. You could do this during a bath or in a family discussion in the drawing room or dining table.

'Your body is yours'

Discuss how every individual's body belongs to her, and we like using it in certain ways like hugging mummy, or horsing around in the drawing room or garden. There are some things we don't appreciate, like being pushed, or tickled for too long.